


Ludus

by TriforceNinja



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Cats, Challenges, Claude von Riegan is a Little Shit, Creepy Hubert von Vestra, Escape, F/M, Felix Hugo Fraldarius Being an Asshole, Felix Hugo Fraldarius Being an Idiot, Games, Happy Birthday Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Kidnapping, Minor Character(s), Past Bernadetta von Varley/Hubert von Vestra, Soft Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriforceNinja/pseuds/TriforceNinja
Summary: After a friendly get-together with Sylvain at their favourite bar, Felix woke up and found himself tied up in an unknown area. His abductor, Hubert, set up a game for Felix, which he needed to participate to gain his freedom. Would Felix play Hubert’s game or will he stay trapped in the mysterious building.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Hubert von Vestra, Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Ludus

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely readers. I wanted to post this story five days from now, but it was held back because of writers block, stress issues and my own laziness.  
> Anyway, enjoy the story.
> 
> (If you already read this story and wondered why I changed the title, the full explanation will be in the notes below.)

_“It’s time to wake up, Fraldarius.”_ An eerie voice from a speaker in a navy-haired man’s ear spoke.

The said man, Felix Hugo Fraldarius, grudgingly woke up and the first thing he notice he was sitting in an armchair instead of lying in his bed. When he opened his eyes, he found out his vision was blocked by a bag over his head. When Felix was about to remove it, he realized that his arms were duct taped to the arms of the chair. He was about to kick his legs forward, only to find out that they were tied to the chair legs.

Felix groaned at his situation. He wondered how he end up like this to begin with. Last time he remembered was he was at Balthus’s Pub with Sylvain. Felix did not recall leaving that bar. All he remembered was drinking beer.

_“So, it appears you have awoken.”_ The voice from the earpiece spoke.

Felix wanted to glare at whoever was speaking to him, but this said speaker was not physically in the area. Even if that individual were there, Felix would not be able to see them with the sack over his head. The navy-haired man did recognize who was speaking to him. Although Felix rarely interacted with this individual, the eerie gentlemanlike mannerism gave him away.

“What is the meaning of this, Vestra?!” Felix snapped. “Where am I and why am I tied up?!”

_“You are in a lone building, which I reserve for this particular event.”_ The voice known as Hubert von Vestra replied.

“What event? What are you planning?” Felix asked.

“ _The reason I brought you here is so you could participate in my game I planned for you.”_ Hubert replied.

“Games?!” Felix exclaimed hotly. “This is what you kidnapped me for?!”

_“If you’re not going to participate, then I suppose you’ll have to say ‘Goodbye’ to your freedom.”_

Felix groaned and said, “So you’re saying I have to play your stupid game in order to be free?”

_“Precisely.”_ Hubert eerily replied. _“The point of the game is to escape the building. There will be puzzles and obstacles along the way, and the first task I’m going to provide you is to break out of that chair.”_

_‘Break out of that chair’_ The words repeated in Felix’s head. The first thing that came to mind was the pocketknife he carried in his right hoodie pocket. Felix thought he could use it to cut off his restraints, but the binds on his wrists would not let him. He started to struggle against them to break free from them, but the first attempt was not a success. When Felix took a short breather, he recalled a video on FódTube about “How to escape hostage situations”. It was about two men, who attempt to escape the scenarios they were put into. One of the situations happened to have both men tied to a chair with duct tape subduing them, which happened to be Felix’s current predicament. What those FódTubers did was struggle until their bounds were off. Felix always thought those FódTube videos were silly. They were created by a channel called “Unu Jaro”, which only lasted for one year, until the creators deleted it. Felix only watched them because Sylvain made him watch a marathon of that FódTube Channel.

The navy-haired man could not believe he was doing this, but he mimicked what the two FódTubers did in that “Hostage Situations” episode and struggled to break free from his bounds. He fought for roughly five minutes, while he thrusted and twisted his arms and legs repeatedly. Eventually, the duct tape wore off so he could break free from them. Felix yanked off the bag off his head and examined his surroundings.

The area he was in was a small office room, which had gray painted walls, and a white tiled floor with chip marks on them. Before Felix was a wooden door, which looked shiny with its chestnut stain, but there were a few scratches on it. Within the area, Felix noticed an old wooden table, which was next to the armchair he was tied to. On top of it was a chisel with a blue handle.

_“Hmm, I expected you to break free quicker than that.”_ The eerie goth man’s voice spoke.

Felix glared angerly as he adjusted the mouthpiece, which on his earpiece and roared, “How do you know all this?”

_“There are hidden cameras in every room of this building.”_ Hubert replied.

Felix looked around the room to locate the hidden camera. Although he could not find it, he flipped his middle finger up to curse at his abductor.

_“Don’t test my patients, Fraldarius. Cursing at me isn’t going to free you from that room, which is going to be your next task.”_ Hubert scolded.

Felix rolled his eyes as he walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and tried to twist it open… but it was locked.

_“Do you really expect the door to be unlocked, especially after your abduction?”_ Hubert asked.

Felix groaned in response.

_“There is a key hidden within that very room you’re in.”_ Hubert noted. _“You won’t be able to find it in plain sight, so you will have to search thoroughly.”_

Felix groaned again while he clutched his hand on his forehead. He turned around to scan the room for the key Hubert mentioned. The perpetrator noted that the item would not be seen in plain sight, so it must be hidden somewhere. Felix was not sure where the key could by hiding, because all he saw was a table with a chisel on top, a chair with torn duct tape on the arms and front legs, walls with no windows and a tiled white floor. However, as he stared down at the floor, he noticed that one of the tiles was a little uneven. Felix walked over to it to inspect it. The tile was sealed with cement, but the texture looked rough compared to the lines between the other tiles. Felix tried to pry the tile off to test the strength of the cement to find out that it was strong.

_“Really?”_ Hubert asked in an unamused tone _. “You really think you could pry the tile off with your bare hands?”_ Felix heard tsking on the other end of the line. _“I didn’t prohibit you to use items. In fact, there is one item in plain sight that could help you with that tile.”_

Felix groaned at Hubert’s lecture, but chose to find the item he mentioned. The navy-haired man stood up and walked to the lone table. He collected the chisel and went back to the crooked tile. Felix used it to violently cut through the grout like if it were a butcher knife. Once he broken the cement around the tile, he lifted it up to find a dully golden key under it.

_“Has anyone ever taught you how to properly use a chisel?”_ Hubert snarked.

“Shut up!” Felix retorted as he collected the key. “At least I found the key.”

_“Well, now you owe me a new blade. I presume the chisel is now dull from being used like a butcher knife.”_

Felix glanced at the chisel and noticed the blade was indeed dulled and banged up. He growled into the mouthpiece, told Hubert to “Shut up”, and walked towards the door. Felix used the key he retrieved to twist it into the doorknob.

_“Before you open that door, I must inform you there are henchmen lurking within the corridors.”_ Hubert chimed in before the navy-haired man could advance.

“You hired men to keep me here?” Felix groaned as he twisted the doorknob back and forth.

_“Indeed.”_ Hubert replied _. “It wouldn’t be a challenge if I simply just let you wander around the building for an exit, would it?”_

Felix made another disgruntled noise before he could open the door. He poked his head out to see if there were men lurking around. The coast looked clear, so he simply walked out of the room. Without having to bother Hubert to decide which way he should go, Felix decided to go through the right corridor, because the left end looked like a dead end with only four rooms within.

_“Are you simply going to find the exit without bothering to check any other room?”_ Hubert asked, which caused Felix to stop at his tracks.

The navy-haired man clutched onto the earpiece violently, glared to the right as he were staring at it and retorted, “Why would I waste my time going into room to room? Are you trying to keep me here?”

_“You will encounter many challenges before you could get to the exit.”_ Hubert stated. His tone changed from dry to sinister when he said _, “And to make circumstances more interesting, I have stolen your cat and hidden it in one of the rooms.”_

Felix clenched the earpiece harder with his fingers. His breath was seething through his gritted teeth and growled, “You… took… Alondite!?”

“ _I’m not at all surprised that you will name a cat after a sword, but yes.”_ Hubert spoke dryly. _“If you were to leave your cat in this vicinity, you are not going to get it back. I might as well give it away to Edelgard.”_

“I am NOT going to let you give Alondite away!” Felix snapped. “And when I find her and leave this goddess forsaken place, I’ll find you and kill you for kidnapping my cat!”

_“Your threats don’t intimidate me.”_ Hubert replied _. “And Alondite won’t be the only hostage you should be worrying about.”_

Felix raised an eyebrow and ask, “And who might that hostage be?”

“You will find out soon enough. This particular hostage is being held on the same floor you are on.” The navy-haired blankly glared because Hubert did not give him a straight answer. “Oh, and may I remind you that henchmen are scouting the area? It would be a shame if one of them finds you talking to me in the open.”

“Hey you! You weren’t supposed to escape!” A loud male voice called from behind Felix.

The navy-haired man turned to see a masked man dressed in all black, who stood in a doorway of a room on the right hand side. This henchman charged at Felix as quick as he could, but the navy-haired man was faster. Felix dodged the tackle aimed for him and kicked his opponent hard in the back. The henchman did not fall over. He regained his balance and glared over at Felix with icy blue eyes.

“You’ll regret that!” He yelled as he tried to tackle his opponent again.

Felix dodged him again, but as he was doing that, he caught the henchman and kneed him in the gut. The air was knocked out of the grunt and collapsed onto the floor after his release. Felix stared down at his opponent with unamused eyes, before he adjusted his mouthpiece and said, “I expected you hired a skilled group of lackeys to come after me. Bergliez isn’t much of a challenge.”

“H-how did you know it was me?” The henchman known as Caspar Bergliez grunt as he began to pick himself off the ground.

“Your loud voice and reckless technique gave you away.” Felix replied sharply.

As Caspar got up on his two legs, he determinedly glared at the navy-haired man and yelled, “Well, I still have my duty! And that is to bring you back to your prison room!”

He attempted to lunge at Felix again, but the slippery navy-haired man dodged again. He countered with a kick to Caspar’s back, who stood his ground. The henchman turned to his opponent, who without hesitation tackled him to the floor. Caspar glared directly up at Felix as he grabbed beneath his armpits and rolled over, so he was on top. But Felix kept doing the same technique. The two men kept flipping each other back and forth until Felix remained on top. He smacked Caspar in the face then kneed him in the crotch. As the grunt recoiled in pain, Felix took the opportunity to pull himself up and ran away. He did not look back at his opponent, who was struggling to get up.

Felix kept running, turned a few corners in the halls and ran into a random room on his left. He did not bother closing the door, because most of the doors he passed by were open, so it might raise suspicion. Felix was also glad that the room lights do not automatically turn on when he entered. The first thing he did there was run behind the desk, which was in the center of the room, and hide under it. Felix leaned his head next to the back of the desk to hear any sudden movements. He heard a rush of footsteps from outside, which stopped while being replaced by heavy breathing. An angry growl came from that direction, which Felix unsurprisingly confirmed it was Caspar, who yell, “I’ll get you! I am not gonna allow you to escape my grasp! Once I find you, Fraldarius, I’ll drag you back to your room after I get my payback!”

Felix mentally groaned at that speech and yet he was not surprised. He knew how determined Caspar could be. Whenever that man was on high alert, he will not rest until his deed was done. Felix waited for the sound of footsteps to move farther away from his destination. Once the sound faded to obscurity, Felix believed it was safe to come out of hiding. Before the Fraldarius man could leave the area, he scanned the room to find anything noteworthy to help him on his quest. There was nothing on top of the desk, but he did find some filing cabinets on each side of the area. Felix went to inspect them, but all of them seemed to be empty.

_“Must I remind you that most of the rooms don’t hold significance to your quest?”_ Hubert spoke.

“Are you saying that I shouldn’t check every other room?” Felix growled.

_“Not necessarily.”_ Hubert replied. _“But there are clues you could find within plain sight on this level. I’m not going to tell you which rooms they are in. So, you will have to find them on your own.”_

Felix groaned, but spoke no further.

He exited the room, but not before he scanned the halls for Hubert’s lackeys. When the coast was clear, he went to the next room, which was across the hall on his left. Felix did not bother opening cabinets nor drawers from any furniture. He just scanned the area to find anything noteworthy. Since nothing caught Felix’s eye in that room, he moved on to the next. He continued to scan each room as he travelled deeper within the corridor. A few times he had to hide in some of them when a henchman was around.

Throughout his travel, Felix eventually found a room with a clue. A room he happened to come by when Caspar found him again. Like last time, Felix hid under a desk and waited for the henchman to leave. He had to listen to Caspar vent again, but as the footsteps faded into obscurity, Felix came out of hiding. Behind him was a bulletin board, which had a layout of the 8th level. The map had two vertical hallway lanes, two horizontal lanes, an exit route at the bottom left corner, fifty rooms in total, and a few circles marked on there. Felix wondered if it was a clue Hubert left. He unpinned the map from the board and walked towards the doorway. Felix checked the room number on the door, which said 319. Then he looked at the map to find that same number. He found it on the second top box of the left of the second vertical hallway, which was circled.

Felix adjusted his mouthpiece and asked, “If you left this map for me, did you circle the rooms which have clues, or did I pick this thing up for no reason?”

_“I did leave that map for you and I did circle the areas of importance.”_ Hubert replied. _“But the only thing significant in that room is the map.”_

“So, there is no point in investigating this area more?”

_“Exactly.”_

Felix looked down at the map to find the next circle. The closest marked room was 324 It was located on the righthand side of the same hallway, but it was inline with the top horizontal lane. Felix made a mental note to watch out for Caspar, or any other henchman that came his way while he advanced. He stuffed the map into his left hoodie pocket and headed towards his targeted destination. When he got close to the intercepting hallway, the navy-haired man heard footsteps on his right. Felix went in the closest room near him and hid behind the door without closing it. He heard the footsteps stop for a few seconds and then resumed. They were coming closer to where he was, so Felix kept quiet. He did not expect the lackey to come into the room. Although he kept quiet, Felix prepared to lunge at the henchman if they were to find him. This lackey he saw before him was taller than Caspar, but like the henchman mentioned before, this individual was dress in all black, ski mask and all. This lackey first checked under the desk but rose quickly as if it were nothing. They stood there and took another look around the room. Although Felix half-heartedly hoped that this lackey did not find him, another part of him wanted to knock them out to make his life easier. But the henchman already left the room before he could decide, which was somewhat a relief for him.

Before Felix could leave, he listened for the footsteps to fade to obscurity. Although he could still hear them, they were further away that maybe he could come out of hiding. Felix slowly came from behind the door and looked through the hallway. He could hear footsteps from the room to his left, but the room he needed to be was on his right across the hall. Felix did not hesitate to tiptop to his destination and searched the area. There were no bulletin boards and there was nothing on top of the office desk or the filing cabinets. Felix first checked the drawers of the desk but could not find anything. Then he looked through the filing cabinets on the right side of the room. In the middle cabinet, Felix found a key silver key. He picked it up to examine it until suddenly he hauled back by his hood. An arm snaked around Felix when his back pressed against his attacker’s chest. Before the other arm could wrap around him steadily, the navy-haired man gave a sharp elbow into the lackey’s sides and kick them away. The attacker released Felix, who took the opportunity to sprint away.

The henchman was still on his tail, but Felix kept running. This lackey seemed faster than Caspar, but their speed was nothing compared to Felix’s. The navy-haired man did not want to keep running around, so he turned to his opponent to fight. Felix dodged as the lackey lunged at him and dodged another fist thrown his way. Felix countered by throwing a punch at his opponent, who blocked with their arm. They tried to hit the navy-haired man again, but he kept dodging. The two continued to throw their punches at each other while dodging or blocking each other’s blow. However, the lackey could not keep up with Felix’s rapid hits. They had each fist blocked, but the navy-haired man kicked them, which made them lose momentum. Felix took this chance to punch his opponent twice in the chest and jump kick them to the ground. The navy-haired man did not waste time to bolt away before the henchman could get back on their legs.

Felix ran a corner and hidden behind another door to the closest room he could find. He staggered his breathing to listen to the oncoming footsteps, which seemed to go towards the opposite direction in the hallway. Felix slowly walked from his hiding place and noticed he was back in the room he was imprisoned in. He mentally groaned before he looked down at the key in his right hand. He assumed that this was the item he was supposed to collect in that last room, so he mentally checkmark that area, but still was not sure what the key was for. Felix placed it in his right pocket for now and pulled out the map from his other. He checked the room number on the outside of the door, which read 308. Felix then looked at the map to see where he was and noticed that the same room was circled. He glared at that mark blankly and asked, “Why is the room I was imprisoned in circled?”

_“If I’m not mistaken, you did have to solve problems to escape that general area.”_ Hubert replied.

“But that was then! Why is this area circled even though it was my starting point?” Felix argued.

He heard a dark chuckle on the other line as Hubert replied, _“I thought you needed a reminder on where you came from.”_

Felix groaned and yelled, “You’re a slithery snake!”

_“Heh, Not the first time I’ve been called that.”_ Hubert noted. _“But I have been called worse.”_

“I could call you worse.”

_“Just focus on your task, Fraldarius. You still have one more room to check on this floor.”_

Felix looked down at the map to find the last circle. He already been to 308, 319, and 324. The only room he had not been to was 345, which was located within the south horizontal hallway, and it was the middle room above. Once Felix knew where he was going, he left the room with caution and headed towards his destination. All he had to do was head straight down and turn left into the last corridor. He did have to hide whenever a henchman was nearby, but he still managed to get to his destination without getting caught. The door was closed and when Felix twisted the doorknob, it was locked. He groaned out of frustration first, but then he remembered the key within his pocket. He pulled it out while he examined the teeth and shape of it. Although Felix was not one hundred precent sure if the key would work on this door, but it was worth a try. He placed the key into the keyhole and twisted it. When Felix heard the mechanism shift within the door, he opened the door to widen his eyes. There he saw Bernadetta tied up to a chair in the center of the room, with a gag tied around her mouth. Her eyes were wide with anxiety and sweat was pouring down her face. Felix rushed over to the purple-haired woman to remove her gag.

“Felix, behind you!” She cried just as the cloth was removed from her mouth.

Felix turned around only to be tackled down by a henchman. This lackey tried to hold their opponent’s wrists together, but Felix was too resistant. He headbutted the henchman in the face and took that opportunity to flip them over. This lackey continued to fight as they punched Felix in the face and kicked him in the groin. The navy-haired man grunted as the henchman tried to flip him over, but Felix still ended up on top. The lackey continued to kick and throw punches. Although Felix had taken the blows this henchman had to offer, he did not falter. He managed to grab a hold of the lackey’s speedy fists and held them above their head. Felix noticed a roll of duct tape. Before he grabbed it, he flipped the henchman over on their stomach, who kept on kicking. Felix recaptured the wrists, held them to the lackey’s back with one hand and snatched the duct tape. He used it to loop around the henchman’s wrists three times, and after that he subdued the legs and did the same thing to the ankles. The lackey kept on struggling, but all they could do was thrash. Felix got off them and looked down at his opponent with pitiful eyes before he turned to Bernadetta.

“So, why did your friends tie you up like this?” The navy-haired man asked as he pulled out his pocketknife to cut the ropes from Bernie’s wrists.

“F-friends?” Bernadetta asked.

“Your gothic exe trapped me here to play his stupid game.” Felix said with frustration as he freed the purple-haired woman’s wrists. “I’m sure he was behind your abduction because he told me you needed rescuing, and I assumed these lackeys of his are people you’re well acquainted with.”

“What do you mean?”

_“She’s trapped in there because I am highly aware of your relationship.”_ Hubert chimed in.

Felix clutched angerly at his earpiece and retorted, “Nobody asked you!”

“B-but how do you know I’m well acquainted with these henchmen?” Bernadetta asked her saviour.

Felix looked down at the bounded lackey then back to his girlfriend’s silver eyes.

“Your friend, Caspar, attempted to detain me after I escaped.” Felix stated. “I’m sure I encountered von Aegir before I got here.” He mentioned the taller henchman that attacked him when he gathered the key. “And I’m sure this hench- “woman” right here-” he looked down at the lackey on the ground, “is your friend, Petra.”

“P-Petra?” Bernadetta looked down at the bounded black garbed individual.

“I’m only doing the orders.” The henchwoman replied. “I was tasked in the capturing of Felix Fraldarius if he came here.”

Bernadetta kept staring down at her friend with concern and asked her boyfriend, “Should we untie her?”

“And risk getting captured? Pass.” Felix replied. “You heard her, her goal is to detain me and keep me here. This is all apart of Vestra’s stupid game.” He turned towards the door and said, “Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Wait, Felix!” Bernadetta grabbed onto her boyfriend’s arm before he could leave. “There’s a key in this room you need to find.”

“A key?” Felix rose an eyebrow.

_“She’s right, Fraldarius.”_ Hubert chimed in. _“There is a key located in that room, which could help you save your cat.”_

“Ugh, If this is for Alondite, how would I refuse.” Felix groaned as he searched the room.

“Wait…” Bernadetta widened her eyes in shock and cried, “Alondite is here, too?!”

“That bastard took her and now I have to rescue her.” Felix grumbled as he marched to the desk in the front left corner of the room. There was a laptop on top of it, which was currently showing a screensaver of Crests. But Felix paid no mind to it and searched the drawers of the desk and found… _nothing._

_“There’s no need to search for the key.”_ Hubert noted. _“The key is right in front of you.”_

“What are you talking about?” Felix retorted as he looked upon the desk. “I see no key here.”

_“Are you really that daft?”_ Hubert asked. _“The key isn’t in physical form. You would have to use the software to crack the code.”_

_‘Software?’_ Then is hit Felix. Hubert was telling him to crack a code on the laptop. He used the touchpad to exit the screensaver, which showed him a locked account. Felix assumed this was Hubert’s computer, so he had to think about what he could use for a password. The navy-haired man first tried Edelgard, because his gothic captor mentioned her a lot, but the computer denied the password. Felix groaned as he adjusted his mouthpiece and asked, “Alright genius, what is the password?” 

_“You expect me to just give you the answer?”_ Hubert jeered before he chided. _“There is a hint shown to you in plain sight. Go look for it.”_

Felix groaned and started to scan the room for a clue. First, he scanned the background of the screen, but all he could see was the colour indigo. He then checked the desk to see if there was anything on it, but the laptop was the only item present there.

“Felix, is something the matter?” Bernadetta asked, which made her boyfriend turn towards her.

Felix only glanced at girlfriend for a split second until he noticed a portrait behind her. The pictured showed a symbol that resembled a heart with a missing top. It had a smaller topless heart in the middle, which had a triangular roof that spread through the lines.

_‘Cethleann.’_ Felix thought to himself as he identified the Crest before he turned back to the computer. He typed down ‘Cethleann’ into the box and the laptop verified the password. The software showed him a map of the fifth level. Unlike the eighth level, this map had one huge area at the top of the map, with five smaller rooms each on the left and right side. Felix clicked on the larger area, which showed him a laboratory, which had an island in the center of the room with nothing on it. On top of the counters of at the back of the area, he saw a caged white cat, which had black front legs, a black fluffy tail, blue eyes and a thick black line diagonally across its face.

_‘Alondite.’_ He thought to himself as he turned away from the computer to leave the room.

_“You’re not done yet, Fraldarius.”_ Hubert told him.

“What do you mean I’m ‘not done yet’” Felix retorted.

_“The door to the lab is locked by a heavily secured metal door.”_ Hubert noted. _“There are two ways to get through the entrance, but only one way is the most logical. Once you get to that door, it would scan you fingerprints, face and physique. But you are not a authorized member, so you will have to hack your way though the lock.”_

“Hack?” Felix asked.

_“But I assume you aren’t a hacking expert, so I hacked into the system to give you a more suitable puzzle for your intellect.”_

Felix mentally wanted to punch Hubert in the face for insulting his intelligence, even though he never hacked before, but he decided to test the system. He backed out of the camera view, which brought him back to the map, and clicked onto the lock icon within the key room. The screen took him to an area where there were colourful jigsaw puzzle pieces scattered around.

“A jigsaw puzzle? Seriously?” Felix yelled in fustration.

_“I’m sure you’ll have fun “solving the puzzle” to that code.”_ Hubert slyly replied.

Felix groaned and called Hubert a bastard. He never had the patience for doing a jigsaw puzzle, even as a child. Although, he recalled Sylvain liking them when they were young, and Felix used to watch him solve them. He remembered Sylvain always started with the edges first before he could work his way into the middle. Felix decided to use that method and search for all the ends. Unlike many jigsaw puzzles he seen before, each puzzle piece is a random colour, and none of them could connect to the same shade. Felix groaned as he turned towards Bernadetta and asked, “Do you enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles?”

“W-well…” The purple-haired woman stuttered before she continued. “When I was young, I sometimes solve jigsaw puzzles whenever I’m afraid to leave my room at home… and that’s… most days…”

“Good enough.” Felix replied as he grabbed his girlfriend by the wrist and pulled her towards the computer. Bernadetta yelped after being hauled as her boyfriend pointed at the screen and said, “Help me put this puzzle together.”

Bernadetta looked at the puzzle in front of her and was also confused to see the random single colours of each piece. Felix noted that the pieces could not connect with the same colour, however, Bernadetta believed there was a pattern involved. She looked at the end pieces that Felix already placed together at the top from left to right and noticed it was going by the colour of the rainbow. Bernadetta told her boyfriend what colour came after the other to test her theory, and as Felix did as he was told, she was right. The navy-haired man continued to listen to his girlfriend until he spotted the pattern. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. After he followed through that pattern, he had solved the puzzle, and a window box popped up and said that the code was cracked. Felix looked down at Bernadetta, who stared back with trembly eyes, then looked away.

“Um…” He started to speak awkwardly as his cheeks began to blush. “Thanks for your help.”

Bernadetta’s face reddened like a tomato and frantically said, “N-n-no problem at all…”

Felix looked back to his girlfriend after a few seconds and said, “Let’s get out of here.”

He headed towards the door while Bernadetta followed his lead. The purple-haired woman took one last glance at Petra with concerned eyes before she left the room. She followed Felix as he turned right into the corridor and made a left at the end. There they came across the elevator, which had police tape across it, and a stairwell. Since the first option was “out of service”, Felix and Bernadetta have no choice but to take the stairs. As they were walking down, Felix was keeping an eye out for henchman in case he had to fight his way. Since they have not encountered anyone once they gotten to the fifth level, Felix exhaled because it saved him the time. They entered the door to the fifth floor to notice it was a wide-open area, which had five rooms each on the left and right side, and the giant room with the metal door wide open. Felix darted his eyes at every corner of the area, but could not see any obstacle, which rose his suspicion. He stayed alert as he and Bernadetta walked towards the laboratory’s door, but nothing alarming happened. As they arrived, Felix looked directly at the caged cat across the room. He checked the area for any hidden traps, but he could not see any. Felix rushed over to the caged cat with concern, who looked back at him with her ocean blue eyes, meowed at him as she pawed at the cage.

“I’ll get you out of there.” Felix told her. “But not until we get home.”

As the navy-haired man was about to pick up the cage, Hubert halted him by saying, _“Now wait a moment, Felix.”_

Felix groaned before he fiddled with his earpiece and asked, “What is it now, Vestra?”

_“Your next task is to let Bernadetta carry your cat.”_ Hubert stated.

Felix looked up to his girlfriend in bewilderment, who was still standing by the door, then he asked through his mouthpiece, “Why?”

_“Do you not trust your girlfriend enough with your cat?”_ Hubert taunted. _“I thought she was well acquainted with your cat.”_

“We haven’t been dating _that_ long and she only came to my place a couple of times.” Felix snarked. He looked up to Bernadetta again with the same quizzed face as before and asked the gothic voice, “And it’s not that I don’t trust her. I’m just asking why her specifically.”

_“You’ll find out soon enough.”_ Hubert replied darkly.

Felix attention was fully on Bernadetta after that chat and said, “Well Bernie, Vestra wants you to carry my cat.”

“Y-You d-don’t trust me with your cat… Is that what you’re saying?” Bernadetta trembly jumped to that conclusion.

“Ack! I never said I don’t trust you.” Felix grunted. “I might even let you carry Alondite even if Vestra didn’t tell me. I just don’t understand-”

“Wh-what? Does Hubert think you’re a bad pet caretaker?” Bernadetta accused.

“That reason sounds utterly-” Felix started, but his girlfriend rambled on.

“Maybe he rescued Alondite from you because you were going to abuse it or kill it!”

Felix grunted and retorted, “If I really wanted to kill Alondite, I would have done that three years ago. Why would I get a cat if I’m just going to kill it and why would we go though the effort to rescue her?”

Bernadetta was about to assume something before Felix cut her off and said, “Never mind. Just take my cat and let’s get out of here.”

The purple-haired woman did what she was told as she walked over picked up the cage with a meowing cat. She then followed Felix towards the exit and returned to the center floor. They wasted no time going down the last flight of stairs until they got to the lobby area. Before Felix and Bernadetta could get to the exit, which the navy-haired man noticed where boarded shut, they found a black coffin with a sky-blue Crest of Fraldarius marked on top in the center of the room. Felix raised an eyebrow while Bernadetta pursed her lips and trembled. The navy-haired man walked up to inspect the coffin and asked, “Why is there a coffin with my Family Crest here?”

Without any warning, a net was thrown at Felix, which knocked him down to the ground with his arms bound around his chest.

“Felix!” Bernadetta exclaimed in horror but widen her eyes more when three dark clad figures emerged from the pillars near the entrance.

“Nice shot if I do say so myself.” The shortest lackey said with a cocky feminine voice.

“I agree.” The middle build henchman of the group applauds with a smooth male voice, before he walked towards his prey.

Felix glared at the man approaching him, who squat down and moved the ski mask up from his face. There, the navy-haired man was met with a familiar face. The warm tan skin, the calculating green eyes, and Felix could never forget that crafty smile.

“Thought you could escape without a proper greeting or goodbye, Felix?” Claude asked.

“ _Riegan_ … I never thought you would work with the likes of Vestra.” Felix spat.

“Hubert? Heh, I offered to volunteer during our chess session.” Claude replied slyly. “I told him he could use a _schemer_ to help with this event. And now that I caught you and now that my ambush worked-”

“You’re going to drag me back to that room I was imprisoned in.” Felix groaned.

“Now why would I go through all the effort just to drag you back to the room you escaped from?” Claude mockingly asked as he waved his arms up before he rested a hand on the coffin. “I was more thinking along the lines of placing you in this coffin and taking you elsewhere.”

Felix could not believe his ears. Claude was going to place him in that coffin to bring him somewhere else. Why a coffin exactly? Was Claude planning on burying Felix as he got in it?

“Like hell I’ll let you bury me!” Felix growled as he struggled within his binds.

Claude tutted at his captive and replied, “I had said nothing about burying you. I said something about taking you elsewhere.” He stood up while still looking down at Felix and said, “Maybe you’ll like this new destination we’ll take you.”

Claude looked over at the bulky henchman from over his shoulder and nodded at him. The tall muscular lackey saluted eagerly at his leader before he came up to Felix and scooped him up in his arms. The navy-haired man struggled harshly within the henchman’s grasp, but his captor kept a firm grip on him. The female lackey opened the casket for the muscular man to place Felix in it. Once the deed was done, Claude and his lackeys closed the lid, which left Felix alone in the enclosed darkness. To top everything off, the navy-haired man heard a click outside of the coffin, which sounded like a lock. Felix kicked at the top of the casket to see if it opens, but it was sealed.

The navy-haired man groaned at his situation. He could not understand anything that was happening. Aside from being kidnapped to play Hubert’s game, he does not understand what the point of this was. Why did Hubert choose Felix to play his game? Why would Claude take him to another destination by coffin? Why were his henchmen more ambitious compared to the lackeys on the eighth level? Although Felix was not surprised that Claude was one of the ruthless people he knew, he swore the henchmen upstairs were only simple obstacles. Felix had fought Petra and Ferdinand before during sparring practises in kendo, and he knew they could put up a better fight than what he delt with today. Caspar was the only one that did not hold back during a fight, but Felix never found him competent.

Then Felix’s mind shifted to Bernadetta. He was not sure why his girlfriend’s friends were holding her captive aside from what Hubert told him before. Felix was still not sure about why Bernadetta needed to carry his cat specifically. And to top everything off, he wondered why his girlfriend did not help him while Claude caught him, or why the schemer and his lackeys did not attack her. Bernadetta only stood there as if nothing was going on.

“You need a lift in my car, Bernie?” Felix could hear Claude from the outside.

“Wh-where would you be taking m-m-me?” The stutter of Bernadetta’s voice asked.

Silence was shortly followed afterwards, except for the hush chatter that accompanied it. Felix could not make out the words, but he then heard Bernadetta say, “Oh, o-okay!”

The navy-haired man does not understand why his girlfriend would simply agree with his captor. Claude seemed to be treating Bernadetta well, despite the fact he just captured her boyfriend in front of her, but why did she not fight him off or even run away. The schemer could have easily nabbed her for sticking around like that, but instead, he politely offered her a ride. Felix did not know if this was Claude’s ploy in capturing Bernadetta, or if she was in on the plot. If that were the case, Felix could not help but feel betrayed. 

He felt the casket being lifted and carried around. Felix only brooded during the process, until after a few minutes when the coffin was being dropped. He heard a hatch door of a truck being closed, and after a couple minutes, he listened to the jumpstart of the vehicle. Felix could feel the vibrations of the motor going, and as the vehicle started to move, he felt the casket sliding around.

_“How are you doing in that casket, Fraldarius?”_ Hubert suddenly spoke to his client.

“Just peachy.” Felix sarcastically replied. “Are you calling me to gloat about my capture?”

_“Maybe just a slither,”_ Hubert eerily replied. _“But your next goal at the time_ was _to get captured by Riegan.”_

“But how is that my goal?” Felix retorted. “I thought I was supposed to avoid getting caught! Doesn’t that defy the purpose of my escape?”

_“We are not finished with you quite yet, Fraldarius.”_ Hubert replied. _“There is one more task we want you to fulfil.”_

“And what might that be?” Felix begrudgingly asked.

_“You will find out as soon you’re delivered to your new destination.”_ Hubert replied.

“Don’t you ever give a straight answer?” Felix bluntly asked.

_“All questions will be answered once you’re here. But I assume this is a better time to tell you this.”_

“And what is that?”

_“I am not the mastermind who orchestrated this event. I was merely hired to watch over your process while you tried to escape.”_

Felix grunted and asked, “Then who is the _true_ mastermind? Edelgard?”

_“Hi, Fe.”_ A different voice spoke from the other side of the line.

This voice was a tad higher and friendlier compared to Hubert’s, but it was a voice Felix knew far to well.

“Sylvain?!” Felix exclaimed with shock and anger. “You are the one behind this whole ordeal?!”

_“Calm down, Felix. We’ll make it up to you in the end. We’re just waiting for you to arrive.”_ Sylvain replied.

“And where is here?” Felix groaned.

_“You’ll find out once you get here.”_

“Ugh! Don’t you play the Vestra secretive card on me!” Felix grunted.

_“I have to.”_ Sylvain replied. _“Just relax and we’ll let you out of that box eventually.”_

Felix sighed and waited for his ordeal to end. He felt the vehicle come to a complete stop after a few minutes and the motor shutting off. Seconds later, Felix heard the hatch of the vehicle opening and a set of footsteps that came his way. He felt the casket getting lifted and carried around.

“Having fun in there, Felix?” The navy-haired man heard Claude call out to him.

“Shut up.” Felix moodily replied.

“Well, you better lighten up where we’re taking you. We hope you’re going to like the surprise.”

Felix kept wondering why these people were assuring them things would look up for him when he reached this secret destination. He hoped that they did not trap him in another room to aggravate him more, because he was fed up with being confined. Felix heard a door open, then Sylvain voice ordering where the casket should be. He felt the coffin descend to the ground, and then he heard a tampering with a lock. A crack of light greeted the navy-haired man’s face when the casket’s lid was slightly lifted. When the coffin was fully open, he saw Sylvain beaming down at him with a wide smile.

“Never fear, my fair maiden. Your knight in shiny armour had just arrived.” The redhead joked.

Felix groaned at his friend’s quirkiness and yelled, “Shut up! I am not some helpless damsel in distress!”

“Well, I just freed you from this casket, and now I’m going to undo your binds.” Sylvain cheered. “But first, let’s get you out of that box.”

As the redhead helped his friend out of the casket, streamers and confetti shot up in the air and fell to the ground like rain.

“Surprise!” A group of Felix’s friends and acquaintances cheered as the navy-haired man was pulled into view.

Felix was taken aback when he looked around his surroundings. He was in the gymnasium of Garreg Mach University. The area was decorated with flag garlands, blue and white balloons, and there was a banner hung at the back of the room, which had big red letters that said, “Happy Birthday Felix”. Below it was couple of serving tables with Felix’s favourite foods, with the exceptions of vegetables and deserts present. In the back right hand corner, there were a pile of gifts lying around. On the right-side of the room, there was a refreshment table, which had water, coffee, punch, and beer. There were also four round tables around center of the room. Felix noticed Linhardt was napping at the one on the back right corner, who also had a fist pumped up in the air to congratulate him.

“Happy Birthday, Felix.” Sylvain cheered.

“S-Sylvain,” Felix started while still flabbergasted. “Why did you make me suffer though all this foolishness on my birthday?”

“Well, I know you usually don’t plan anything much on your birthday.” Sylvain replied as he stretched his arms behind his head. “So, I decided to spice things up and make today really eventful.”

“You’re nuts!” Felix retorted and then he let out a sigh. “But I guess it was more interesting than my regular birthdays.”

His professor, Byleth, was the first to approach the birthday man. She pulled out a pocketknife to undo the binds restraining Felix.

“In impressed by your stealth skills, Felix.” Byleth praised. “But there are still some areas you need to improve on.” She said as she cut the last rope that restrained her student. Byleth took a step back, looked up to Felix with emotionless eyes and said, “Perhaps I’ll train your stealth skills in our next lesson.”

Felix did not know how to reply to that. He considered himself more as a fighter than a hider.

“F-Felix,” Bernadetta timidly approached her boyfriend with a no longer caged Alondite in her arms. “Y-y-you… a-a-aren’t mad at me… are you?”

Although Felix still felt betrayed that she did not help him while Claude captured him, but after he learned about the conclusion of the event, Felix said, “No, I’m not mad at you.”

Bernadetta face reddened as she widened her eyes and dropped her jaw. She released Alondite as she rushed over to her boyfriend, tightly wrapped her arms around his torso and cried, “Tell me you’re not just saying that?! Please don’t get angry at me!”

Felix sighed as he rubbed her back.

“You were just playing your role.” He said before he glared up at Sylvain. “But I am angry at the person who got Alondite involved.”

“Hey, take it easy,” The redheaded man held his arms up in mock surrender. “I promise I won’t steal your cat for these events again.”

Felix took a good look the area to see who else was present. He was not surprised to see Hubert here, who was holding a folded laptop in his left arm. He came up to Felix and demanded to return the earpiece, which the Fraldarius man did. Edelgard, who stood next to the goth was also there, and she was smiling warmly to Felix. The Fraldarius man was also not surprised to see Dimitri and Ingrid here. Although he and his male blonde friend had a rocky relationship, it was still not a shock to see Dimitri here despite their differences. Dedue was also there, and he was wearing an apron, along with Ashe and Mercedes. Felix assumed that they cooked the food. Annette, Dorothea, Flayn, Ignatz and Hilda cheered for the navy-haired man’s 23rd birthday. Marianne, who stood next to them, was only smiling meekly. Balthus, Yuri, Constance, and Hapi were cheering in one corner. Claude, along with his lackeys, Raphael, and Leonie, took their ski masks right off. Petra, Caspar, and Ferdinand did the same thing. Lorenz was also there, who gave Felix pretentious smile.

_‘Ugh, why did Sylvain invite him.’_ Felix thought.

The last person Felix saw was Lysithea, who came up to him with a plate of cake in her arms.

“Felix, I want you to try this.” She said as she grabbed a fork, took a bit of the cake and presented it to the Fraldarius man.

“I thought I told you I don’t like sweets.” Felix deadpanned.

“Oh, come on! I made this specifically for you!” Lysithea retorted. “I added spices to it, but I didn’t make it overly sweet.”

Felix sighed and said, “Fine, just one bite.”

Lysithea fed him the cake and Felix relished the taste. Like the white-haired woman said, the cake was not overly sweet, but the navy-haired man enjoyed the spices added it.

“So, how is it?” Lysithea asked.

“I-it’s edible.” Felix replied.

“If by edible you mean incredible then yes, I agree.” Lysithea cheered.

After everyone was done greeting the birthday man, they all began to get ready for supper. They allowed Felix to grab his food first before anyone had a chance to get their own. After everyone had their dinner, Felix started to open his presents. He received many replicas of legendary swords, a few hunting daggers, a painting of his cat, Alondite with the sword she was named after in the background, curtesy of Ignatz, some training weights, some packages of beef jerky and some blends of his favourite teas. Bernadetta’s gift was the last to open. When Felix unwrapped it, he pulled out a white scarf, which had a navy-blue diamond pattern on each end.

“I-I-I kn-knitted it myself…” Bernadetta stuttered. “Y-y-you d-d-don’t hate it… d-d-do you?”

“It’s nice.” Felix simply replied.

“Wh-wha? Really?” Bernadetta questioned.

“Yes.” Felix replied as he pecked his girlfriend on the cheek, whose face redden instantly.

After all the presents were opened, everyone spent most of their time socializing with one another. Near the end of the day, Felix picked up his cat and was about to put her back in her cage so he could take her home. A few of the guests gave Alondite one last pet before her owner could lock her up.

“Do you need a ride home?” Sylvain asked as he saw his friend packing up.

Felix nodded because he had no other transportation to get home. Even if he were capable on walking home himself, he would have to make a couple of trips to gather all his gifts. Sylvain help Felix loaded all his belonging into his velvet red sports car, including his pet cat. They made sure they said goodbye to the guests still around, especially Bernadetta, who gave Felix a goodbye kiss. Once that was over, Felix got into the passenger side of Sylvain’s car as his friend got into the driver’s seat. The redhead started the vehicle and drove off with his friend.

“So, Felix.” Sylvain started a conversation while on the road. “How did you enjoy your birthday.”

“It was eventful.” Felix replied before he glared at his friend. “But don’t plan something like this to me ever again.”

“Oh, come on! I’m sure you had fun.” Sylvain teased.

“It was unexpected and different, but it is not something I would want to do again.”

Although what he said was true, Felix did not want to admit that he actually did have fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Here are some fun facts I have put into the story.  
> 1\. The title name "Ludus" is Latin for "The Game". No, I didn't name it based off the David Fincher movie, (which I recently just seen after I received a comment saying it was similar to that movie) I named it because it suits the plot of the entire story.  
> 2\. The title was former called "Felix Natalis" (which stands for "Happy Birthday" in Latin) but the "Birthday" part was more of a spoiler, so I thought about a title that depicts the full story.  
> 3\. Another title I was going to call this story, "Dies Unus" which means "One Day" in Latin. The name was inspired by the deleted channel called "Unus Annus", but the story alone does not have the same effect of what that channel stands for, and there are only a few references inspired from it.  
> 4\. Speaking of inspiration, “Unu Jaro” (which also means "One Year" in Esperanto) was a parody of that said channel I mentioned.  
> 5\. Aside from "Unus Annus", I got the inspiration from escape room games in general. (ex. finding clues, using items)  
> 6\. FódTube is a parody YouTube. It's pretty much Fódlan and YouTube combined in one word. (I seriously couldn't think of a better name)  
> 7\. The name "Alondite" is a reference to the Black Knight's sword in "Path of Radiance" and "Radiant Dawn"  
> Well I hope you enjoyed this story. Feel free to leave a comment. I would like to see some feedback.


End file.
